Govt To Replace All Commercial Cars With Electric Vehicles By 2020; Hero Launches INR 20k Electric Scooter Which Doesn’t Need License To Drive

Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways in India is all set to unleash a major drive towards electrification of commercial transportation in the country. As per latest indications coming from Minister Nitin Gadkari, who heads this Ministry, Govt. is considering to replace every type of commercial vehicle in India by electric vehicles.

As per a high-level proposal created by the Ministry of Transport, around 50 lakh electric vehicles would be introduced on Indian roads by 2020, thereby completely transforming the transportation and energy landscape of India.

It seems ample homework has been done in this regard, as the proposal not only includes replacing fuel based vehicles by electric vehicles but also takes into consideration the most important aspect of making the project successful: Charging Points.

Thousand of Charging Points Would Be Created On Highways

As per the proposal drafted by the Ministry, thousands of charging points would be created on the major highways, so that electric vehicles can become feasible in the coming years.

As part of the pilot project, around 1200 charging points would be installed on highways passing from Nagpur in Maharashtra. Out of these, 200 would be fast charging points wherein vehicles can be charged within 60 minutes, while the 1000 slower charging points would take 5-6 hours to charge an electric vehicle.

Interestingly, these charging points would be created in a PPP model (Public-Private Partnership), and most probably Ola has already been selected for this initiative. As per a report, Ola gave a detailed presentation to Niti Ayog regarding their plans for creating such charging points near Nagpur.

As per notifications by the Ministry, the introduction of 50 lakh electric vehicles on Indian roads will lead to a saving of 9500 million tons of fossil fuel and reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses by up to 2 lakh million tons.

Earlier, we had reported that Govt. aims to introduce 70 lakh electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2020, but the feasibility of such a massive project has been doubted and questioned by experts.

Hero Launches Electric Bike Which Doesn’t Need License To Drive

Meanwhile, in yet another push towards electrification of road transport, Hero Motors have launched an economical electric scooter costing Rs 19,990. Named as ‘Flash’, this electric scooter doesn’t need a driving license to drive, as it has less than 250-watt power. Powered by a 48 volt 20 Ah VRLA battery, Flash can run 65 km in a single charge.

Weighing just 87 kgs, Hero has positioned Flash for teenage drivers, women, and senior citizens, who needed a compact, lightweight urban electric vehicle for covering short distances.

Some of the features of this electric scooter include:

• Magnesium alloy wheels
• Telescopic front forks
• Full body crash guard
• Under-seat storage arrangement

Note here, that under Motor Vehicles Act, electric bikes which have power less than 250 watts and speed less than 25 kmph doesn’t need a driving license or registration for driving on road.